The high court is asked to settle the question due to "great public importance." If the court takes the case it could result in having the issue settled before SCOTUS acts on marriage equality, AP writes.

A panel of judges with the Lakeland based appeals court rejected a request earlier this month to forward the case up to the state Supreme Court. The ruling was overturned in a 10-3 decision by the entire appeals court.

Attorney General Pam Bondi has asked judges to stop ruling on same-sex marriage cases until the U.S. Supreme Court makes a decision on the constitutionality of banning same-sex marriage. Her request has not been ruled on yet.

The case that is requesting the audience of the state Supreme Court is of a Hillsborough County divorce case involving a couple married in Massachusetts but have since relocated to the Tampa Bay area. They filed a petition to dissolve their union but was rejected by a Florida judge who noted that state law doesn't recognize the marriage.

As an openly gay man, Fred Hoffman said, "I really didn't know if there would be an issue." And while he wasn't waving rainbow flags when he was recruited by Chrysler in 1988, he was told being gay wasn't a problem.